Honey, the mysterious food used in medicine since ancient ages has puzzled people for centuries with its healing effects on humans wounds documented already by the Egyptians 2000 B.C.
Honey is produced by bees such as the honey bee Apis mellifera. The nectar bees collect from plants is a sweet liquid mostly composed of sucrose. By the time the bee returns to the hive, much of the sucrose is converted to glucose and fructose. Honey further contains proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Presently, honey's therapeutic properties besides osmolarity and acidity, are explained by the hydrogen peroxide content as an action of peroxidase oxidase (White, et al. 1963 Biochem Biophys Acta 73, 57-70), the origin of the nectar by its different flavonoid and phenolic acids content (Taormina, et al. 2001. Int J Food Microbiol 69(3), 217-225; Wandan, H. A. 1998. Infection 26(1), 26-31), and an unidentified component (Molan, P. C. 2001. World Wide Wounds (online); Available from URL: http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/november/Molan/honey-as-topical-agent.html). Despite scientific efforts performed during the last 30 years (Lusby, P. E., et al. 2005 Arch Med Res 36(5), 464-467; Molan, P. C. 2006. Int J Low Extrem Wounds 5(1), 40-54 Int J Low Extrem Wounds 5(2), 122; Mundo, M. A., et al. 2004 Int J Food Microbiol 1, 97(1), 1-8) the mystery regarding many of honey's modes of action still remains to be solved.
The antimicrobial properties possessed by honey render honey suitable for use in the dressing of wounds, where it assists in preventing infection, the debridement of necrotic tissue, the deodorising of malodorous wounds and the minimisation of scar formation. Honey containing wound and skin caring products are known through WO2004/000339 and WO03/047642.
In medical practice today, antibiotics are most commonly used for treating infections. The extensive use of antibiotics has however led to antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria becoming a big problem. In food industry preservatives are extensively used in order to prolong the shelf life of food and prevent the growth of harmful pathogenic microorganisms. People are however becoming aware about the side effects of additives in food, such as allergies, and there is a growing demand for more natural food. These facts have led to an interest in traditional medicine and an urge to find new treatment solutions and preventive treatments and additives based on old wisdom.
An object of the invention is to obtain medical, food, and feed products lending their beneficial properties from honey.
A further object is to synthetically produce honey.
Another object is to obtain new bacterial strains having antimicrobial activity.